UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Overview: Upgrading the 3SGTE

After I'd purchased my red '93 Turbo, I decided to strip the
wrecked white car, rebuild the engine,
and put it in the new car. The opportunity to rebuild the engine out of the car, with no
deadline to finish it, enabled me to plan the changes I wanted to make
over a period of time.
Little did I know how long this project would stretch out. It took a full
year before I had my turbo kit! I used that time to collect parts I thought I would need to build it up the way I wanted it.

This project can be divided into three parts:
removing the engine,
rebuilding the engine, and
installing the engine. The BGB,
while not without errors, is a valuable resource and should be
at your side during this process. Trying to do any type of work on the
MR2 without consulting the BGB will likely lead to frustration and
possibly disaster. While imperfect, it's better than most other service manuals I have worked with.

Remember that this is only a guide -- not gospel. What you do to YOUR
vehicle is YOUR responsibility. I do not endorse, approve,
authorize, or otherwise encourage you to make alterations to your
vehicle. Be careful, and recognize the dangers associated with
modifications to your vehicle's critical systems, like electrical,
engine, brakes, etc.

Like any project, planning is essential.
And like most projects I've undertaken, my planning could have been better. Determining all the required parts in advance, having them on
hand, tracking them so you can find them when you need to, these are all
tasks that I could have done better. As a result, I have a few
suggestions:

Make sure you have a plan
to identify parts as you remove them. I used a system of small boxes and
small parts bags. I made the effort to label the bag and the box at the
same time the part was removed, as specifically as I could.
McMaster-Carr is an excellent
source for small parts bags. Cheap insurance against hours of searching.

Take digital photos of
everything as it is removed. As I look back on the photos I took, I
can't believe all the hoses there are on the stock motor. Even with all
those, there are still a few shots that I don't have, and they would
have simplified the assembly process.

When you get new parts from
Toyota, take the time to identify where they go and what they do. Having a bunch of plastic
parts bags with cryptic
part numbers on them can be frustrating.

Track the part numbers you
order. This can save you from duplicating the parts, especially when the
project is spread out over a period of time. You never can tell when
you'll get interrupted for several weeks, or even months, and searching
for a part when you are not even certain you ordered it can be time
consuming and frustrating.

I think it's false economy
to re-use gaskets, seals, o-rings, belts, and hoses. Considering the amount of labor
and inconvenience involved if they later fail, it just doesn't seem
worth the small savings to me.

I don't list torque values, not because they are
not important but precisely the opposite -- they are important enough
that I'm
reluctant to provide values that might be incorrect. The BGB should
be your source, but use common sense, as the BGB has errors as well. The
BGB does include "standard" torque values for standard-size bolts,
and these are useful as general guidelines. For example, if the BGB
advises you to use 60 foot-pounds on a 10mm nut, find a confirming source.
It's likely you'll end up with a snapped stud or, worse, a stripped
hole.

These pages
have LOTS of photos. That's really the whole point in creating this guide.
Owner's manuals are often lacking photos, or they
have a small, fuzzy, B&W photo that doesn't quite show that crucial detail
you need to see. All images can be
viewed full-size (1024 x 768) by clicking on the smaller image. The full-size view can often provide that extra level of
detail necessary to clarify the operation. I could be accused of including
more photos than necessary (especially on relatively simple tasks), but my
philosophy has been "it's better to have it and not need it, than need it
and not have it".

I use the
photos as a reminder to myself. I often get
interrupted during a project and can't return to it for days, even weeks.
The photos can prove invaluable when trying to remember what I've done.

Some of the
photos might not exactly match the sequence of the text, as I may have
used photos from previous projects that I felt better illustrated the task
at hand. So the car in the photo could be white or red, but the task was the important
thing.

Please contact
me if you have comments or suggestions about the article or the
project, or if you find errors on these pages.

Parts and Preparation

Short BlockBlueprinted, balanced,
ARP main studs.

Engine blueprinting and assembly performed by Alex Labeur.
Engine machine work performed by Vegas Machine.